Thirty years after the first World Meeting of Families, a mini-documentary to relive the joy of the Meetings of the last three Popes

On 8 October 1994, Saint John Paul II summoned families from across the world to Rome to celebrate the first World Meeting of Families.

It has been thirty years since that first meeting, and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life marks this important anniversary by recalling the story of the ten World Meetings with Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis in a ten-minute mini-documentary, produced in collaboration with Vatican Media and Vatican News.

A tool for pastoral care of the family on key topics for the family

The Popes’ words intertwine with the story of these thirty years told through the voice of Cardinal Kevin J. Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. Words are linked to powerful and evocative images of the families participating in each Meeting in different countries worldwide: they all had the opportunity to be embraced by the Popes and to rejoice in being close to Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, feeling encouraged to live the mission of the family within the society and the Church.

The mini-documentary is a powerful pastoral care tool, to be shown during events, meetings with families, and pastoral care of the family seminars. It is useful in marriage preparation courses, in married couples’ catechesis, or even in the catechesis with children, and it is valuable to recall the Church’s “love story” with the family and to show the joy of taking part in the mission of the Church. In fact, with their beauty, wounds, and sorrows, many families had the opportunity to experience and share the joy of having Christ at the centre of their lives, precisely during the World Meetings.

The mini-documentary will be accompanied by ten one-minute videos, one for each World Meeting of Families, where the power of images is complemented with the depth of Popes’ reflections on certain topics, summarized each time in one key word relating to family: light, gift, children, path, faith, values, dream, Sunday, joy, mission. The short videos will be shared, from Sunday 13 October, every Sunday and Wednesday, through Vatican Media and the Dicastery’s social media channels, and all videos will be available on their official YouTube channel.

Sharing and spreading to prepare for 2028!

The call of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life is to share and spread this pastoral care tool of the family, question oneself through the Popes’ words and relive the emotion of an ecclesial meeting, which has always been a moment of strong Christian awareness and sharing for families. This is also how we are preparing for the next meeting for families from across the world convened by Pope Francis for 2028.

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From the Meeting in Rome in 1994 to the post-pandemic Meeting in 2022 – which also took place in Rome –  there were ten international meetings where the Popes called families to reflect and celebrate together. From Brazil to the Philippines, to Spain and Ireland, to Mexico and the United States.

In 2022 in Rome, after the pandemic, Pope Francis turned the event into a multicentre meeting spread and celebrated in all dioceses across the world to also allow families who were not able to travel to live such moments of reflection and joy within their local Churches.

The next World Meeting of Families will take place in 2028.